


Maybe We're Fireproof

by justyrae



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, F/F, Flirting, Genderswap, Mutual Pining, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-28
Updated: 2015-05-28
Packaged: 2018-04-01 17:45:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4029013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justyrae/pseuds/justyrae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where superpowers are real and she's got a nemesis who won't leave her alone, Liam's just trying to keep it together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Maybe We're Fireproof

**Author's Note:**

  * For [asiacore](https://archiveofourown.org/users/asiacore/gifts).



> I'M NEVER EVER EVER DOING ANOTHER SUPERHERO FIC AGAIN.  
> jk this is totally a lie I probably will but oh my god picking actual superhero names is the WORST bc everything sounds absolutely ridiculous no matter what.
> 
> ANYWAY Asia I hope you enjoy this bc it really was a lot of fun to write :)
> 
> extra big special thanks to J for reading this every couple hundred words and assuring me it wasn't crap, I really needed that <33 and also thank you A for helping me with names, making an absolutely LOVELY edit, and always being 100% here for girl!direction :)
> 
> title from 'Fireproof' by One Direction

 

Liam will never forget the first words Bright Spark ever said to her. All Liam was trying to do was contain a massive fire that the villainess had started, and she had the nerve to make fun of Liam's outfit.

"What're you supposed to be, Super Girl?" she'd said, staring Liam down with a smirk as she watched Liam tirelessly put out the flames all around her.

"No," Liam had answered, glaring back at her. "I'm--"

"On fire," the villainess interrupted as she created a fireball in the palm of her hand and flung it directly at Liam, catching her skirt on fire within seconds.

Bright Spark had disappeared while Liam fought to put it out, gritting her teeth and cursing the firestarter endlessly as she got the rest of the flames under control.

That was the day Bright Spark became Liam's arch nemesis.

Neither of them had any idea who the other was, which is how it was supposed to be. Their secret identities stayed secret, and they went about their normal lives apart from their heroine and villainess ways.

The problem was that their secret identities were too carefully hidden, so much that neither of them recognized each other if they weren't in their costumes. They had no idea they went to the same university, or even that they had some of the same classes.

Liam didn't know that the girl she grew fond of throughout their first semester of uni was one in the same as Bright Spark who had nearly burned down half the city. She had no idea that the burns and bruises that littered her body were caused by the same girl who would curl into her shoulder after a long day of classes and demand Liam bring her tea.

If Liam had known, she never would've agreed to move into a flat with her.

And she _certainly_ never would've fallen in love with her.

*

Louis didn't really consider herself a _villainess_ , per se. The first time she'd set something on fire was a complete accident, thank you very much, but every time after that… well, alright, those _had_ been on purpose.

And then there was the time she used her super speed to sneak in and out of the back room of the Apple store in order to get herself a new iPhone. It wasn't even the newest version; she just needed a new phone and didn't have the money to get it.

If anything, Louis considered herself more of a Robin Hood figure: steal from the rich to give to the poor. It just so happened that she was the poor in that particular scenario (and she hadn't really given anything to anyone else apart from a few gifts to her sisters here and there at Christmas).

She wasn't _evil_ or particularly vindictive, she just had a bit of a nasty habit of setting things on fire. It was just a bit of fun!

Louis certainly never intended to draw enough attention to herself to warrant a nemesis, though she had to admit it did make setting things on fire that much more fun. In the past, she'd usually set a few small fires and then run off as quickly as possible to avoid being seen. But now that she had Fantastica following her around, well, that just made things more interesting.

In fact, Louis rather prided herself on the fact that she was important enough to have a nemesis in the first place. She'd only ever met one other "villain" since she'd moved out of Doncaster, though Louis hardly considered her as a proper villainess either. She was far too lazy to fully mastermind any sort of evil plan.

The only plan she had actually managed to follow through on was the first time Louis met her, when she stole the brand new iPhone that Louis had just stolen for herself.

"Hey!" Louis snapped as the iPhone flew through the air into the girl's hand. "That's mine!"

"Mine now, innit?" she replied, her lips curled into a smirk as she perched on the edge of the building above where Louis was standing. She disappeared from view and Louis glared at the empty space for a minute before she went after her.

Louis very well could've just gone back in and taken another iPhone, but it was the principle of the thing to retrieve the one she'd already taken.

Louis caught up with her so quickly, obviously having been underestimated, that when Louis grabbed her elbow she was startled so much that her entire appearance changed before Louis' eyes. The blonde pixie cut she'd been sporting a second ago was replaced with long black hair, and her eyes faded from blue to hazel but were as piercing as ever.

"What the…" Louis pulled her hand back, but between one blink and the next the girl had switched back to what was now obviously a disguise. "How'd you do that?"

"None of your business," she snapped. "How'd you catch me?"

"None of your business," Louis mocked. "Give me back my phone."

"Not your phone, is it?" she said with a grin, waving the phone in front of Louis' face. "Seeing how you nicked it from the store."

"More mine than yours since I did all the work," Louis grumbled back as she grabbed the phone out of her hand in half a second. The girl stared at her empty hand for a second before she rolled her eyes.

"Who're you, the bloody Flash?"

Louis grimaced. "Absolutely not. Much more of a Marvel girl, me."

"Trying out for the Avengers, then?" she asked with a smirk.

"They'd probably kick me out for trying to shag Black Widow," Louis replied with a shrug and the girl laughed.

"Can't blame you for that," she replied. "So if you're not the Flash, who are you?"

"L--" Louis stopped herself before she said her real name, still not used to the secret identity thing even while she was in disguise. "Bright Spark. Who're you?"

"Copycat."

"That's rubbish," Louis scoffed. "Couldn't you have picked a less obvious name?"

"This coming from the girl with BS written across her chest?" Copycat laughed. "Don't be a twat." Louis looked down at her chest and frowned. It's not like she _meant_ to do that, honestly.

"M'not a twat, don't go making fun of my outfit just because you've just got a rubbish name. I'll come up with something far better, you just wait and see."

"Wha-- Who d'you think you are, you can't go around changing other people's names!"

"Can too, especially when they're as rubbish as yours."

"Watch it, Sparky," Copycat shook her fist at Louis, "or I'll push you off the rooftop."

"You wouldn't," Louis retorted, though she wasn't quite sure. She'd never encountered another villain before and thought it best not to show any weakness. She just hoped that Copycat couldn't sense that her heart was pounding.

Copycat stared at her for a long while before her face softened and she shrugged.

"Nah, probably not."

"Oh, thank god," Louis exhaled deeply, doubling over as Copycat laughed.

"Had you worried?"

"For a bit, yeah." Louis laughed. "What'd you want with this phone anyway?"

"Lost mine," she replied with a sigh. "Don't really have the cash for a new one so when I saw you sneaking out of the store, I figured why not?"

"Cheeky," Louis said with a smile. "I can get you one, if you like."

Copycat grinned widely. "Partners in crime, are we?" Louis grinned back.

"Something like that."

*

It had been a long day for Liam. She'd started out the morning rescuing people from a fire Bright Spark had set ablaze on the other side of the city, and she'd barely managed to get everything back to normal in time to reach her first class. Liam thanked her lucky stars every day that she could fly, especially in times like these.

It wasn't until the first break during the class that Liam's friend Niall pinched the tip of her ponytail between her fingers and pulled it in front of Liam's face that she realized her hair had been singed by the fire.

"What happened to you this morning?" Niall asked with a laugh as Liam hurriedly pulled her hair from Niall's hand and pushed it over her other shoulder.

"Left the straightener on too long," she mumbled, toying with the sleeve of her jumper. Normally she rolled up her sleeves during lecture, but there was a fresh burn across her wrist she certainly didn't want to have to try and explain the origin of.

"Again?" Niall's laughter rang out in the lecture hall and Liam quickly shushed her.

"I got distracted!"

"M'sure you did," Niall said as she rolled her eyes and Liam frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She hadn't told a soul about her extracurricular activities as Fantastica. It was for their own protection, after all. Not even her own parents knew what she was truly capable of, chalking up Liam's antisocial behavior growing up to being bullied by the other girls.

Really, Liam kept away from everyone after accidentally punching a hole clear through a wall when she was about twelve. By the time she'd learned she could fly, she didn't have any friends she could've told about it anyway.

"You know," Niall said as she nudged Liam with her elbow, wiggling her eyebrows beneath her blonde bangs.

"I don't--" Liam groaned. "Oh, now come on."

"What? Was Louis walking around in just her knickers again?"

"She did that _once_ ," Liam reminded Niall. "Once!"

"And you've been dreaming about it ever since," Niall said with another raucous laugh. "Surprised you haven't jumped her yet."

"I wouldn't… She's not…" Liam groaned again and leaned forward, putting her head between her legs as Niall rubbed her back as she continued to laugh.

"Keep telling yourself that, Liam."

It wasn't that Liam didn't _know_ she was head over heels in love with Louis, it was more that she couldn't _let_ herself be in love with her. She knew it was too dangerous for both of them, given she had a snarky firestarter constantly causing her trouble, and the last thing she wanted to do was to get Louis hurt.

It was a miracle that Liam even had friends at all. Although as she thought about it, Louis and Niall had never really given her a choice in the matter. They were both the sort of people that once they enter your life, you're stuck with them forever. Which wasn't a bad thing, it was just Liam wasn't used to having anyone stick around.

She'd even tried at first to push them both away, but none of her usual tactics seemed to work. She'd beg off on spending time with them outside of class, feigning that she had loads of work to do, but they always tagged along with the insistence that they could help.

One day in particular, when Louis had followed Liam to the library all the while complaining that she _hated_ the library, Liam asked her why she was coming along in the first place.

"How else am I going to get to know you better?" Louis huffed in return.

"Dunno why you'd want to," Liam mumbled.

"Because we're friends, idiot." Louis bumped her shoulder against Liam's, jostling her and causing her to stumble a little.

"We are?"

"Of course!" Louis frowned. "Why, do you not want to be?"

"N-No, of course, I just--"

"Good, because we are." Louis huffed again. "Now where's my tea you promised?"

"I didn't promise you tea," Liam replied with a laugh.

"If I'm going to sit in the musty old library with you, _the least_ you could do is bring tea." Louis pinched Liam's side, grinning when she yelped. "Now you'll know for next time."

"Right," Liam mumbled, rubbing where Louis had pinched her as she turned her head away to hide her smile, "next time."

"Li-am," Niall whined in sing-song, snapping Liam out of her thoughts. "Stop thinking about Louis' tits and pay attention to me."

"Niall!" Liam shrieked, clapping her hand over Niall's mouth to muffle her cackle. "There are people around!"

Niall shrugged, clearly beaming widely under Liam's hand. It took another minute or so for Liam to trust that Niall wasn't going to mouth off again before she took her hand away.

"And I _wasn't_ ," she hissed, making Niall snicker.

"M'sure you weren't, Li."

Liam frowned and crossed her arms, unable to come up with a retort before the lecture started up again. She tried her best to pay attention to the remainder of the class, but it was difficult to keep Louis off her mind at the best of times so really nobody could blame her for daydreaming.

It wasn't like she'd been in love with Louis from day one or anything. It was little things that made Liam fall deeper and deeper in love with her until one day she realized that there was absolutely no turning back. She wasn't sure what did it, what little action tipped the scale from harmless crush to full-blown love, but whatever it was made Liam's life nearly impossible ever since.

It was hard enough keeping secrets from Louis about tiny things - especially when Liam had to focus most of her energy on _not_ letting Louis find out about her super extracurricular activities - so having to add another enormous secret was enough to exhaust Liam most days. Her heart pounded every time Louis curled up close to her, especially when she'd demand for a cuddle in Liam's bed.

"You've got better pillows," she'd always use as an excuse, even though Liam never once protested having Louis in her bed.

She was just waiting for the day when Louis would discover her secret, because she was 100% sure she was horribly obvious every minute of every day. The number of times a day she caught herself staring wistfully at Louis was far more than she'd ever want to admit.

But they'd been friends for nearly two years now, and Louis never said a word.

Sometimes, Liam tried to work up the courage to just tell her how she felt. Once she almost blurted it out over dinner, having promised herself that _tonight was the night_ , but she chickened out at the last minute.

"You sure you're alright, Li?" Louis asked as they walked back to their flat, weaving back and forth down the sidewalk because even stone cold sober neither of them could walk in a straight line.

"Yeah, m'fine." Liam offered a weak smile and Louis frowned.

"Tell you what," she said as she pulled one of Liam's hands out of her pocket, looping it around her waist as she wrapped one of her own arms around Liam's torso, "when we get home, we'll curl up on the couch and marathon Batman films all night."

"You've got lecture at 9am tomorrow," Liam reminded her gently, even though the prospect of spending all night on the couch with Louis was far more enjoyable than going to bed alone.

"S'fine," Louis waved her hand, "I went last week, I can miss tomorrow."

"Louis…"

"You're more important," Louis said, laying her head against Liam's shoulder. "Always."

"M'fine," Liam said, letting herself press a kiss to the top of Louis' head. "But thanks. Batman sounds ace."

"Always does," Louis replied proudly.

Liam didn't realize the lecture was over until Niall shook her by the shoulder, giving her a knowing smile when Liam scrambled to pack up her things.

"Don't even start," she muttered.

"I didn't say anything!" Niall replied, still grinning.

"I can see it on your face," Liam said, wagging her finger in Niall's face as she slung her bag over her shoulder, "you're thinking naughty things again."

"No, that's _you_ ," Niall replied and Liam smacked her shoulder, which did absolutely nothing to stop Niall from cackling madly.

*

"Liam and Louis sitting in a tree," Niall sang as she dodged Liam's attempts to shut her up, "K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Niall, stop it!" Liam cried, still furiously trying to cover Niall's mouth. They were walking to the café near her and Louis' flat and with every step they took Liam grew more and more nervous that Louis would pop up and overhear Niall's singing.

"Maybe I'll just tell her myself!" Niall laughed as she pushed Liam's hands away.

"Niall, you can't," Liam begged. "Please--"

"Relax, Li," Niall shook her head, "I wouldn't. You know I'm just teasing."

"I know, but--"

"About time, slags!" Louis' voice rang out, startling Liam so much she dropped her bag on the sidewalk. She ignored Niall's muttering absolutely ridiculous under her breath as she hastily grabbed it so they could catch up to Louis.

Louis politely held the door to the café open as Niall and Liam approached. Niall went in first, curtseying as she passed, but Liam eyed Louis suspiciously. Louis rolled her eyes at Liam and pushed her inside, scrambling to jump onto Liam's back as soon as they were inside.

"Knew I shouldn't have trusted you," Liam grumbled as she tried to adjust her grip on Louis so she didn't fall onto her arse. She definitely would've blamed Liam and been absolutely insufferable for the rest of the day.

"Probably not," Louis replied, grinning as she pressed a kiss against Liam's cheek. "Onward!"

"You never give me a piggyback ride," Niall whined as they got into line. She gave Liam a smirk as she continued, "but then again, you're not--"

"You never asked!" Liam interrupted quickly, not trusting whatever was going to come out of Niall's mouth next.

"I didn't ask," Louis said, tilting her head to peer at Liam.

"You never ask, you just do what you want," Liam said with a huff. "Even if you _did_ ask, if I said no you'd pout until you got your way."

"Nobody can resist my pout," Louis replied proudly. "S'like kryptonite."

"Keep telling yourself that," Niall said with a cackle. "You won't be getting any piggybacks from me."

"Challenge accepted, Nialler," Louis grinned, "now move, you're holding up the bloody line!"

Louis continued chattering in Liam's ear as they moved through the line, Liam still clutching the underside of Louis' knees to keep her on her back as they went. Hearing Louis go on about her morning distracted Liam from her own thoughts, as well as the looks Niall kept giving her over her shoulder.

"Ooh, Liam look at the muffins!" Louis said as they passed the bakery display. "Will you buy me one?"

"Me?" Liam laughed. "You've got your own money, Lou."

"Yeah, but it'd taste better as a gift from my best friend." Louis wrapped her arms tighter around Liam's neck as she nuzzled her nose against the nape of Liam's neck, murmuring please over and over until Liam agreed.

"Alright, alright, I'll buy you the bloody muffin."

"Pushover," Niall muttered. If Liam had had a free hand, she would've smacked her. Instead she just glared at the back of Niall's head as she walked over to the barista at the end of the counter to place her order.

"I can help you!" a voice called out just past Niall, but all Liam could see was an outstretched arm before she walked over.

It was very lucky indeed that she didn't lose control of her limbs when she saw the girl behind the counter, otherwise she would've dropped Louis right onto the floor and been far more embarrassed than she was for openly staring at the ridiculously cute barista.

"Two in one!" she said with a laugh, smiling brightly at both Liam and Louis. "What can I get for you?"

Liam couldn't find her words. She kept expecting Louis to take over for her, to call Liam some ridiculous name and give the barista their order like a normal person, but she also fell silent. The girl didn't seem to mind, she kept smiling at them and fussed with her curls as she waited patiently.

"M-Muffin," Liam choked out finally, clearing her throat before adding, "and tea."

"One for each?" Harry - Liam's eyes finally fell to her nametag as she tapped their order into her computer - asked. "What sort of muffin would you like?"

"Lou?" Liam turned to the side so Louis could answer Harry properly, also to give herself a moment to take a deep breath and try to stop her heart pounding. She didn't hear a word either of them said until Harry was asking for their names.

"Liam," she answered dutifully before turning her head towards Louis, "can't reach my wallet with you on my back."

Louis sighed heavily, as though Liam were asking her to move all the furniture in their flat around instead of just dropping off her back. Liam paid for both the muffins and tea with shaky hands, but Harry didn't seem to notice Liam's nervousness at all. In fact, Liam could've sworn Harry winked at the both of them when she handed over the bag with their muffins but she didn't let herself dwell on it as she pulled Louis over to where Niall was waiting for her drink.

"Ooh, what'd you get?" Niall asked as she reached for the bag.

"Hands off, Horan!" Louis said, smacking Niall's hands away as she took the bag from Liam and reached her hand in to grab her muffin.

"You good, Li?" Niall asked softly, and Liam nodded quickly.

"Oh my god," Louis said through a mouthful of muffin.

"Good muffin?" Liam asked with a soft laugh, hoping Louis hadn't noticed how affected she'd been by Harry.

"N-- well, _yes_ , but look!" She showed Liam the contents of the bag, in which she saw her own muffin plus several biscuits they certainly did not order nor pay for.

"She…" Liam glanced over her shoulder at Harry, who was busy with another customer, "we didn't pay for those!"

"Shh!" Louis covered her mouth. "Shut up! Free biscuits!"

Later that night, long after the muffins and biscuits had been gobbled up, Liam and Louis were curled up on the couch watching a film when Louis brought Harry up.

"She was nice," she mumbled softly. Liam felt her body tense up without her permission, and she tried extremely hard to relax again so Louis wouldn't notice.

"She did give us free biscuits," she replied. Louis smiled and laughed against Liam's shoulder.

"Yeah," she paused, speaking again even lower, "she was cute too."

"Mhm." Liam couldn't let herself say anything else, and she hoped Louis would just drop the subject.

Liam hadn't felt this way about anyone but Louis in a long time, and she had no idea what to do about it. Even though she wasn't dating anyone - and Louis had _no idea_ how she felt about her - Liam couldn't shake the feeling of guilt that had settled in the pit of her stomach that she was somehow _cheating_ on Louis.

Her heart still fluttered every time she looked at Louis, and every time Louis curled against her side she still had to fight the urge to press kisses to any part of Louis she could reach. Those feelings definitely weren't going away, so how could she possibly feel that way about someone else too?

Liam tried to push those thoughts out of her head and focus instead on the film she and Louis were watching. It worked well enough until she went to bed that night, falling asleep thinking of green eyes and brown curls.

*

Liam never meant to turn into one of those superheroes (not that she even truly considered herself a proper superhero) who dropped everything every time they heard sirens, but somehow she unwittingly had. It was inconvenient at the best of times, but some days she _absolutely_ did not have time to spare on heroics but found herself doing it anyway.

The problem was, she was running out of excuses as to why she was always late and why she always smelled of smoke. No matter how many times she swore to Niall and Louis that she hadn't taken up smoking and hadn't told them, they seemed to believe her less and less.

Some day soon, they weren't going to believe her at all and Liam was going to have a serious problem. Well, besides the problem she already had with a certain firestarter who wouldn't leave her alone.

"Why're you always setting things on fire?" Liam asked with a huff. Bright Spark grinned and shrugged her shoulders lazily as she continued to chuck tiny fireballs at Liam's feet.

"Because I can."

"Dunno why you do it," Liam grumbled as she stamped out each one, "I never did anything to you, I don't even know you."

"True," she remarked, appearing at Liam's side in the blink of an eye. "What's your name, anyway?"

"Why d'you want to know?" Liam asked suspiciously.

"So I can write it in flames, obviously," the villainess rolled her eyes. "You just said you don't know me, so this is me getting to know you."

"I didn't say I wanted to know you," Liam grumbled, yelping when Bright Spark jabbed her shoulder roughly and burned a hole through her costume.

"C'mon, then, out with it!"

"You little… bloody… menace!" Liam groaned as she tried to grab Bright Spark, but she moved far too fast for Liam to catch her.

"I'm 5'9, thank you very much," she cackled. "If you don't tell me your name, I'll just keep calling you Super Girl."

"Fine!" Liam shouted. "It's Fantastica."

Bright Spark stayed silent for a moment with a slight grimace on her face as she contemplated this new information. Liam tried to grab her again but missed, and was punished for her efforts with another fireball aimed at her bum.

"Think I'll stick with Super Girl," she remarked with glee as Liam quickly patted out the flames on the back of her skirt.

"Who're you, then?" she asked through gritted teeth, turning her head to glare at her nemesis "The Pocket Rocket?"

Because Liam was looking straight at her, she noticed the split second where Bright Spark's face hardened as though what Liam had said actually hurt her. But in the blink of an eye she was smirking at Liam and the vulnerability was gone.

"Ooh, Super Girl's got a mouth on her!" Bright Spark laughed. "Tsk, tsk. You ought to lose hero points for that."

"Just tell me so I can file a proper police report," Liam grumbled.

"Wait… what?" she laughed. "You actually do that?"

"It's the right thing to do," Liam insisted over the sound of Bright Spark's laughter. "Shut up, it's not funny!"

"Oh, but it is!" she replied through her giggles. "Here, I've got a name for you."

Liam waited a beat, resisting the urge to tap her foot in impatience even though she really didn't to stand around and be ridiculed by her any longer. She was supposed to meet Louis at the pub in twenty minutes and she still had to go home and change.

"Lightning McQueen."

Liam jumped as Bright Spark appeared behind her, speaking directly into her ear in a low voice that made her shiver.

"It is not," Liam turned around, but the villainess had already moved again.

"Could be!"

"But it isn't!" Liam protested. "That's the name of the racecar in that bloody Pixar movie!"

"Fitting, though, isn't it?" Bright Spark smirked before she disappeared from Liam's sight again. This time, she didn't reappear and Liam was left alone amidst piles of ash.

She sighed heavily as she pulled at the fabric covering her shoulder, surveying the damage caused there before trying to see how much of the back of her skirt had been singed as well. All in all, there wasn't nearly as much damage as there could've been, but that didn't make Liam any less angry.

Bright Spark had to be stopped.

*

"Liam, we've been waiting for _ages_ , where've you been?" Louis demanded as Liam slid into the booth next to her.

"Sorry, sorry," Liam muttered, gratefully taking the drink that Niall pushed across the table towards her, "had to make myself pretty for you, didn't I?"

"You're always pretty," Louis said as she leaned over and smacked a kiss to Liam's cheek. "Now catch up, Nialler and I have already had two rounds."

"Fantastic," Liam mumbled, rolling her eyes as she took a sip.

Louis got progressively drunker as the night wore on, and Niall was doing nothing to help Liam with her since her not-boyfriend Bressie showed up. They'd disappeared more than an hour ago and Louis had been clinging to Liam ever since while insisting that she wasn't as drunk as Liam said she was.

"No, m'not!" Louis slurred. "Ginger ale, all night!"

"Unless they started making ginger ale with vodka, you're a total liar," Liam said with a laugh. Louis groaned, frowning at Liam when she took her drink away.

"Give that back!" She grabbed Liam's shoulder for leverage, and Liam couldn't help the soft cry that came out of her mouth when Louis' fingers dug into the burn she'd received only hours before.

Louis gave her a worried look before she hastily pulled at the collar of Liam's shirt to reveal the burn, gasping when she saw it. Liam quickly batted her hands away and adjusted her shirt to hide it again.

"It's nothing," she muttered.

"It's not nothing," Louis replied with a frown. "How'd that happen?"

"That bloody straightener," Liam grumbled, frustrated that she had to use this excuse again. Louis was going to insist that she watch Liam do her hair every day if she kept having to blame her burns on it.

"Liam," Louis said softly as she pressed her forehead against Liam's shoulder, whining pitifully as she drunkenly tried to pull Liam closer. "You shouldn't do that."

"I didn't do it on purpose," Liam replied, laughing at Louis as she kept trying to wrap herself around Liam.

"No," Louis huffed, "you should leave your hair. I like it curly." She closed her eyes and mumbled against Liam's shoulder, "curls are cute. I like cute curls."

"Alright," Liam said as she patted Louis' head as she kept mumbling _cute curls_ under her breath. "I think it's time for us to go home."

Louis groaned but didn't protest when Liam pulled her up to her feet and led her towards the door. Louis clung to her while they waited for a taxi, and stayed close on the ride to their flat. She only let go of Liam when they stepped through the door, and when she made a beeline for the bathroom Liam assumed it was because she was going to be sick.

Liam went into her own room to change her clothes, and was staring at the burn on her shoulder in the mirror when Louis came in. Liam immediately covered herself up, having been standing in front of the mirror in just her skirt and bra, making Louis roll her eyes.

"Nothing I haven't seen before, Li." She sat down on the foot of Liam's bed and it was then that Liam realized she'd gone into the bathroom to grab their first aid kit.

"Louis, it's fine," she tried, but Louis wasn't having it. She grabbed Liam's wrist and pulled her down onto the bed, pushing her good shoulder until Liam reclined on the bed and Louis kneeled next to her.

"I can do it," Louis said in reply to Liam's slightly anxious look. "M'fine."

"You're drunk."

"Not brain surgery, is it?"

Liam watched as Louis carefully applied ointment to her burn, rubbing it in gently and frowning whenever Liam winced. She pressed a bit of gauze against it, taping it to Liam's skin with a look of such intense concentration that Liam couldn't help but giggle.

"Shush," Louis tutted. "Shouldn't laugh at your doctor."

"Sorry," Liam mumbled, biting her lip to hide her smile.

After Louis pressed the last bit of tape against Liam's shoulder, she leaned down and planted a gentle kiss right in the middle of the bandage.

"There," she said with a smile, "all better, yeah?"

"All better," Liam repeated, hoping Louis wouldn't notice the waver in her voice.

Louis stared at her for a moment before she ran her fingers down Liam's arm, sending a shiver through Liam as she crawled off the bed and gathered up the first aid kit.

"G'night, Li," she mumbled as she left the room, closing the door behind her. Liam let out a deep breath to calm herself down.

For the first time in a long time, she wished she'd drank a bit more that night. Maybe if she had, in the morning she wouldn't remember the feeling of Louis' lips on her shoulder or the warmth of her fingertips trailing down her arm.

*

Louis hadn't lost control in a very long time. Not since the first time she experienced what her powers could _really_ do, and ever since she'd been a bit afraid of what would happen if she lost control again. She supposed that she should be glad that she hadn't set the whole damn city on fire, but then again what she had done wasn't exactly good either.

"Not good, not good," Louis muttered under her breath as she paced. "Shit, shit, _shit_!"

"Umm, excuse me?"

Louis ignored Harry's soft voice, continuing to mutter under her breath as she thought about what she'd just done.

This was absolutely villain territory. She didn't mean to kidnap Harry in the first place, but seeing her _flirting_ with someone else had made Louis' blood boil. Unfortunately in retrospect, kidnapping Harry while she was supposed to be taking out the café's rubbish bins was not the best of plans.

She hadn't even known where to take Harry, which is how they ended up on a rooftop on the complete opposite end of town. Louis just needed to think. She just needed a bit of time to sort out her own head and pray she didn't do anything else stupid.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, sounding worried rather than scared.

"Course I am," Louis replied, hoping Harry wouldn't realize her bravado was entirely fake. "Shouldn't you be worrying about yourself? You're the one who's been abducted, after all."

"Have I?" Harry asked with a coy smile. "Thought you just swept me off my feet."

Louis sputtered, taken aback by Harry's bluntness. She strode over to where Harry was crouched on the ground, summoning two fireballs in the palm of her hands to make her look extra menacing.

"How about now?" she asked in her most villainous voice, "still think you're safe?"

Harry gulped audibly and didn't say a word, but not once did she look away from Louis' eyes. It was unnerving, having Harry stare at her so intently. The flames in her hands faded down to a dull flicker without Louis even realizing it, and she cleared her throat loudly when Harry started to grin.

"I haven't got all day," she huffed, "you've got information I need and you're going to give it to me."

"Am I?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Louis replied in a voice that absolutely wasn't squeaky at all. She cleared her throat again and crossed her arms, staring down at Harry with a wicked grin. She was going to get the upper hand back, goddammit.

"Alright," Harry replied softly, folding her hands in her lap as she patiently waited for Louis to speak again.

"How long have you been working at that café?" she asked, although she already knew the answer. Louis remembered the first day Harry started working there, both she and Liam had stopped dead in their tracks to gawk at the girl before they remembered themselves and got in line while trying to hide their blushing from each other.

"A few months, but what--"

"Do you flirt with all of your customers?"

"What's that got to do with--"

"Answer the question, Harry!"

Harry's brow furrowed and Louis nearly lost her nerve when she asked, "how d'you know my name?"

"You're wearing a bloody nametag! Honestly, Harriet, keep up!"

"Oh," Harry said as she looked down at her apron, smiling widely when she looked back up. "Forgot," she added with a giggle.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"For fuck's…" Louis groaned. "Do you flirt with all your customers or not?"

"Oh, right." Harry chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before she shrugged. "I guess so? I don't really mean to…"

"So it doesn't matter if they're a boy or a girl? You'll flirt with anything?"

"I don't--"

"Answer!"

"Why?" Harry asked.

"W-What?" Louis blinked. "What d'you mean, why?"

"Why d'you want to know?"

"I-- You-- I don't have to explain myself to you!"

"But--"

"I have a great many villainous plots to think about, I don't have the time to explain them…" Louis gulped when Harry started smiling again, "not that I _would_ because I _wouldn't_ and you wouldn't understand anyway because you're not a villain!"

"I don't think you are either," Harry replied.

"Shut up," Louis snapped. "Course I am. I kidnapped you, didn't I?"

"You did," Harry agreed.

"See? I'm clearly the best villain--"

"I think you want to ask me on a date."

"You… I…" Louis huffed. "Do not."

"Do too," Harry said with a giggle as she started to get to her feet. Louis instinctively took a step back, her heart pounding as Harry drew closer.

"Stay back," she warned, trying to summon a fireball as her hands shook.

"Why?" Harry reached out to take Louis' hands in her own, crying out when Louis' touch burned her skin.

"Told you," Louis mumbled as Harry cradled her hands.

"S'alright," she said as she looked into Louis' eyes again and a smirk appeared on her face. "I love the pain."

Louis let out a soft groan, feeling as though Harry had just set _her_ on fire and it took everything in her not to grab Harry and kiss her right there.

So Louis did the next best thing: she left Harry alone on the rooftop.

By the time Liam got home, Louis had changed out of her costume and was curled up on the couch in a blanket, still trying to get a grip on everything that had transpired.

"Here, I brought tea!" Liam said as she handed Louis a takeaway cup from their favorite café and sat down next to her. "Wanna know something weird?"

"What?" Louis asked.

"Harry wasn't there." Liam took a sip of her own tea and Louis froze, waiting to hear the rest of Liam's story. "She usually works Tuesdays, doesn't she?"

"Y-Yeah," Louis answered shakily. "Maybe she took the day off?"

"I thought so too," Liam went on, "but one of the other girls was looking for her, so it seemed a bit fishy to me." She sighed. "Hope nothing happened to her."

"Nothing did," Louis answered without realizing it, quickly adding, "y'know, I'm sure she's fine."

"Alright," Liam replied, eyeing Louis suspiciously. Louis stared down at her tea as she drank it, avoiding Liam's gaze as much as possible.

The feeling of guilt was overwhelming; she felt guilty for lying to Liam, she felt guilty for leaving Harry on that rooftop, but most of all she felt guilty for the feelings she'd developed for Harry. She'd been in love with Liam for ages, always one step away from telling her but always held back by one problem:

How could someone like Liam possibly love someone like Louis?

*

Louis grinned as she found Copycat on the same rooftop where they first met, lying on her back with a cigarette in her mouth as she twisted the excess smoke into intricate patterns in the air.

"Thought I'd find you here, Zoomy." She jerked at the sound of Louis' voice, but didn't bother getting up.

"Don't call me that," Copycat answered with a groan. "I've told you, it's rubbish."

"Is not. It's funny," Louis replied as she sat down next to her, stealing the cigarette right out of her mouth and taking it for her own.

"Twat," Copycat grumbled as she grabbed her pack to get herself a new one, holding it out to Louis expectantly. Louis created a fireball in her hand to light Copycat's cigarette, grinning proudly when she pulled away.

"Never gets old," she said as she inhaled on her own stolen cigarette, lying down next to Copycat and exhaling deeply. They sat in silence for a while, both staring up at the sky as they smoked.

"Heard about you and Fantastica yesterday," Copycat remarked offhandedly. "Still pulling her pigtails, are we?"

"Am not," Louis replied with a huff. "You're mad."

"Mhm," she laughed, "right, _I'm_ mad."

"You are." Louis huffed again, absentmindedly fussing with her fringe as she avoided looking Copycat in the eye. "I just like setting her on fire, is all."

"Because you want to see her naked," Copycat prompted and Louis squawked in return.

"I do not!"

"Do too," Copycat laughed, "you're turning red at the very idea!"

"Shut up," Louis said, turning her head away to hide her burning cheeks. "I can't fancy Fantastica. Not when I'm already all fucked up over…"

"Your roommate?" Copycat asked. "That café girl?"

"You make it sound like I'm a slag."

"Nah, slags actually get laid." Louis shoved Copycat as she started laughing, nearly dropping her cigarette in the process.

"I ought to set _you_ on fire," Louis grumbled, hiding a smile.

"Yeah, but you don't fancy me." Copycat sighed. "Why don't you just tell them?"

"Tell them what?" Louis asked. "That I fancy them? How would that even work? Normal people don't go around fancying two people and have it all work out."

"You're hardly normal, y'know."

"That, too," Louis groaned. "Eventually they'd find out who I really am, and they'd either never speak to me again or have me arrested and _then_ never speak to me again."

"You're not a villain, Sparky. Not a proper one, by any means."

"How very dare you!" Louis huffed indignantly. "I'm a _fantastic_ villain, I--"

"You set fires to things you know Fantastica can easily put out, and you kidnap the girls you fancy just so you can find out if they fancy you back." Copycat shook her head. "You're no more a villain than I am."

"You're too lazy to be a villain," Louis mumbled. "Even if you had a plan to take over the world, you'd never go through with it because you'd rather sleep in."

"Can't argue with that." Copycat grinned.

"I just… I wanted to _be_ something, y'know?" Louis sighed. "Instead I'm a shit villain who's barely passing uni and is hopelessly in love with two girls who'll never even look at me that way and I just…" Louis sighed again. "I dunno."

"You don't have to be a villain, y'know. You could just--"

"I set things on _fire_ , Z."

"And I can change my entire appearance by just thinking about it," Copycat sighed. "Just because we have powers that allow us to _do_ evil things doesn't _make_ us evil."

"D'you really think it could work?" Louis asked softly after a long pause.

"Never know unless you try." Copycat shrugged. "Plus it would probably help not to have a nemesis, y'know."

"Probably," Louis admitted with a laugh. She ducked her head and looked at Copycat with a fond smile as she asked in a quiet voice, "d'you think we could be friends? In real life?"

"There's only one life, mate." Copycat smiled. "And we're already friends."

Louis groaned and covered her face with her hands as Copycat beamed at her.

"I take it back, Zoomy. You're awful, I don't want to be friends with you."

"Keep calling me that and I'll levitate you right off this roof."

"You wouldn't." Copycat grinned wickedly.

"Try me."

*

There had been a sinking feeling in the pit of Louis' stomach all day. She'd spent all night in her room going over different scenarios in her head of what might happen if she told Liam how she felt about her. Even when she allowed herself to think that Liam's reaction might be positive, she always seemed to screw it up in the end.

She needed someone else's opinion about what to do, but she didn't have anyone to turn to. She'd already talked to Copycat about it, albeit mostly in the hypothetical sense and not what to do if she actually _decided_ to tell Liam, but even if Louis had wanted to talk to her again she had no way of getting in proper contact with her. The true downfall of making friends with fellow villainesses was not being able to rely on them in crises that popped up in normal life.

So Louis had been left alone with her thoughts, and they were slowly driving her mad.

She hardly thought she could be held responsible for her actions given the amount of emotional turmoil she'd accidentally inflicted on herself. Plus, it wasn't like she set the library on fire _on purpose_ , no matter what Fantastica said. It was an accident.

Louis had hardly even noticed the flames surrounding her, engulfing the stacks upon stacks of books as she stood in the middle of it all. If she'd been thinking clearly, if she hadn't been so caught up in her own head she would've seen Fantastica coming.

If Louis had only seen her coming, her whole world might not have come crashing down around her as well.

Louis knew she was lucky to get away from Fantastica before she turned her in to the police. She knew that she wasn't going to get away with setting fires forever, but she'd hoped that it wouldn't turn out like this.

All she wanted was a chance to explain. The problem was that she didn't know how to get that chance, nor did she know if she'd ever be able to explain it properly.

The last thing she ever wanted to do was to hurt Liam. She never should've let it get this far.

Unfortunately, since Louis had absolutely no idea how to handle any of this, she went with her first instinct: she ignored all of her problems. Even if there was a voice in the back of her mind telling her _this isn't how you solve anything_ , she figured she might as well make the best of things while she still could. She was going to cling to normalcy for as long as she could, starting with getting a proper cup of tea.

She texted Liam to meet her at the café, knowing full well that Liam had no classes that afternoon and could easily meet her for tea. She waited outside of the café for what seemed like ages, waiting on a response that never came.

Louis wasn't going to give up. She kept texting Liam over and over, until finally halfway through one Liam popped up out of nowhere and scared Louis so badly that she dropped her phone on the ground.

"Why didn't you answer?" she snapped, bending down to snatch her phone and praying that she hadn't cracked the screen. Liam didn't answer, choosing instead to go into the café and have Louis trail behind her.

They got into line and Louis hooked her arm through Liam's like always, but Liam didn't make a move to touch her back. She didn't pat Louis' hand or squeeze her arm, she stayed silent and still apart from moving with the line.

"Oh, bugger," Louis whispered when she put her phone in her pocket to reach for her wallet and didn't find it there. "Liam? D'you think I could borrow a few pounds?"

Liam exhaled deeply and rubbed her eyes, frowning but refusing to look Louis in the eye.

"C'mon, Li, be a pal and spot me this _one_ time," Louis begged, "I dunno where my wallet is and I'm dying for some tea."

"Lose it at the library, did you?" Liam muttered under her breath, but with the way Louis was clinging to her she heard every word.

"W-What?"

"You heard me."

"Liam…"

"When were you going to tell me?" Liam asked, pulling herself free from Louis' grip. She couldn't go far, as they were still in line at the café and there was only so much room, but it was enough.

"Tell you what?" Louis stared at her nervously, acutely aware of the attention they were drawing from the other café patrons.

"You bloody well know what!" Liam shouted before storming away from Louis and out of the café. Louis was absolutely stunned, as were the twenty or so other people in the café all around her. It took maybe thirty seconds for Louis to follow, catching up to Liam in the alley behind the café.

"What the hell was that all about?" Louis asked, reaching out to Liam who turned away immediately. "Liam--"

"I know it's you," Liam muttered darkly. "You're Bright Spark."

Louis went silent, her hand frozen where it was outstretched towards Liam's shoulder. She didn't dare make a sound, and Liam sighed heavily before she turned around to look at Louis.

"How could you do this to me? How could you lie to me all this time, make me believe we were friends, make me fall in l--"

Liam cut herself off with a choked sob, pressing her hand over her mouth to hold it back as Louis stared back at her with terror in her eyes as her hand dropped to her side.

"I don't understand," Louis whispered shakily. "how did you find out?"

"Come off it, Lou," Liam said between shaky breaths as she fought to keep from crying, "you knew who I was all along, didn't you? Thought you'd get close to me and figure out my weaknesses?"

"I didn't… I don't know what you're talking ab--"

"Don't lie to me!" Liam shrieked. "The least you can do is not bloody lie to me now!"

"I'm not--"

"Don't!" Liam sobbed. Louis fell silent again, clenching her fists like she was itching to take Liam into her arms but knew she couldn't do it.

"I'm sorry," Louis whispered.

"I thought you were my friend," Liam said, her voice shaky as she tried to compose herself. "I didn't know you were my nemesis."

"S-Super Girl?" Louis' eyes widened. Liam shook her head and took off into the air without another word, going somewhere Louis couldn't follow even if she tried.

Louis sank to her knees as she watched Liam fly away, burying her head in her hands as she started to cry. She didn't hear a soft voice saying her name until a hand pressed against her shoulder and she jerked in surprise.

"Sorry," Harry said quickly, "I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't," Louis snapped, quickly getting to her feet and wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked hesitantly. "That was quite a scene, in there."

"I'm fine," Louis answered, staring at the ground so Harry wouldn't see her eyes filling up with tears again. "Liam's just upset, we'll be fine tomorrow."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Louis replied stiffly. "She can't stay mad at me, she's--"

"Super Girl?"

Louis stiffened. "You heard that?"

"I heard a lot of things," Harry admitted softly. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I just--"

"So now _you_ know too," Louis interrupted with a sniff. "You going to yell at me as well?"

"No," Harry replied with a soft laugh. "I still don't think you're evil."

"I kidnapped you," Louis muttered darkly, her voice rising as she continued, "I set fires, I _burned down_ the bloody library, and you still don't think I'm evil?!"

"No," Harry said as she reached out to take Louis' hands. She still had bandages on her own from the last time Louis touched her, which only made Louis feel worse. "I'll admit, burning down the library wasn't the best idea, but I don't think that makes you evil."

"What's it make me, then?"

"I dunno." Harry shrugged.

"That's not helpful, Harry." Louis huffed. "There's no in-between here. There's only good or evil."

"Says who?"

"Says bloody everyone!" Louis shouted. "When's the last time you heard of a good guy who set things on fire?"

"When's the last time you heard of a bad guy who felt genuine remorse about what he's done?"

Louis looked up at Harry, blinking tears back as Harry gently squeezed her hands as a small sign of comfort. Louis took a deep breath and let it out shakily, willing herself not to start crying all over again.

"See?" Harry said softly. "You're not evil, Lou. I don't think you could be, even if you tried."

Louis dropped her head onto her knees again and let out another deep breath, clinging tightly to Harry's hands as though she were afraid Harry would otherwise disappear.

"What am I going to do?" she whispered. "Liam's never going to forgive me."

"She will," Harry replied.

"How do you know?" Louis spat, quickly lifting up her head to glare at Harry, but softening her gaze when she saw Harry smiling back at her.

"Because," she said as she gently pulled Louis to her feet, "if she likes you half as much as I think she does," she took a hesitant step towards Louis, still smiling, "and half as much as I do, then she will."

"Promise?" Louis whispered, and Harry laughed.

"Promise."

*

Liam had never been more furious at Louis in her life. She couldn't stop herself from crying as she raced around their flat, flinging things into a knapsack as quickly as she could. There was absolutely no way she was going to stay there when she knew it would only be a matter of time before Louis came home.

By the time she turned up on Niall's doorstep she'd stopped crying but her eyes were so red that the smile on Niall's face disappeared immediately before she pulled Liam into a hug.

"What happened?" Niall asked, wrapping her arms tightly around Liam while pulling her inside.

Liam started sobbing again, but this time it was mostly out of frustration rather than fury. The problem was that she couldn't tell Niall the truth, not without exposing her and Louis' secrets. As angry as she was with Louis, she still knew better than to tell even someone as trustworthy as Niall about their powers.

In the end it didn't matter, Niall simply assumed Louis had done something stupid and Liam just didn't correct her. Technically speaking, Niall was right.

She refused to let Liam out of her sight for the rest of the night, even insisting that they share her bed because "you need a good cuddle to forget all about that twat."

"She's not a twat," Liam mumbled miserably.

"Broke your heart, didn't she?" Liam frowned and hung her head, making Niall huff. "Sounds pretty twattish to me."

"I wish she'd told me," Liam whispered as she tucked her head in the crook of Niall's neck. "I never would've..."

"Would've what?" Niall asked when Liam didn't elaborate. "Fallen in love with her?"

Liam made a noise of distress and buried her face against Niall's skin and Niall let out a laugh, soft and fond.

"Don't think you could've avoided that, Li," she said softly, "pretty sure you've been in love with her since day one."

"Have not," Liam grumbled.

"Have so." Niall hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head.

"Should've fancied you instead," Liam mumbled. Niall laughed loudly and Liam's face broke into a smile for the first time all day.

"Oh, Liam." Niall wheezed with laughter and wiped her eyes. "I love you dearly, but not like that."

"Love you too, Nialler." Liam sighed softly as she closed her eyes and tried not to think about Louis. Niall stayed silent for so long that Liam thought she fell asleep, and was nearly asleep herself when Niall spoke up again.

"Now you can shag that fit girl at the café."

"Shut up," Liam mumbled, shutting her eyes even tighter and ignoring the way her cheeks burned at the mention of Harry.

"We'll go by tomorrow," Niall said with a yawn as she patted Liam's head gently. "Set you up on a proper date. You'll see, everything will work out."

"If you say so."

*

True to her word, Niall dragged Liam to the café the next day despite Liam practically begging not to. She wasn't _afraid_ of running into Louis, she just really didn't want to see her.

"I'll protect you, don't worry, Li." Niall beamed.

Liam laughed at the idea, knowing full well Niall had no idea she was offering to protect Fantastica. She could only imagine the look on Niall's face if she knew, but Liam would never want to put Niall in danger by telling her.

As far as Liam was concerned, she'd already lost Louis. She wasn't about to lose Niall too.

Liam kept her head down as they entered the café as she was worried that some of the patrons from the day before might be in there again and remember her dramatic exit, but she looked up when Niall hummed thoughtfully.

"What?"

"Doesn't look like Harry's here," Niall said with a sigh, "doesn't she usually work Tuesdays?"

"Yeah," Liam replied with a frown, "unless she's gone and quit because of stupid girls who make scenes--"

"Hey, none of that," Niall said, interrupting Liam by covering her mouth. "We'll find her, don't you worry."

Liam nodded but couldn't help the miserable pout as she and Niall moved through the line. She wasn't even in the mood for anything from the café anymore, but her ears perked up when she heard Niall ask one of Harry's coworkers about her.

"She was here this morning," she answered with a sigh as she took Niall's money, "but she disappeared about an hour ago. Last time this happened, she gave us the excuse that she'd been kidnapped or summat."

"Kidnapped?" Niall echoed, sharing a worried look with Liam. The barista shrugged her shoulders as she handed Niall her change and tea.

"Yeah, said she was left on the other side of the city. Our boss believed her, but I still think she burned herself some other way and made up the ridiculous story as an excuse."

"Sorry, did you say she burned herself?" Liam asked, even though the barista was clearly becoming frustrated with them holding up the line.

"Yeah, must've grabbed something out of a fire." The barista huffed. "Look, I don't mean to be rude, but there's a line behind you, yeah?"

"Yeah, yeah," Liam mumbled as she and Niall shuffled away, "sorry."

"That's weird, innit?" Niall said as she and Liam stood by the sugar station, dodging other patrons as Niall added milk to her tea. "Wonder if she really was kidnapped."

"Yeah," Liam answered absentmindedly, as she was far more preoccupied with the fact that somehow she _knew_ Harry had been telling the truth. Sure, she may not know Harry all that well but she certainly didn't seem the type to lie about something like that just to get out of a shift at the café.

As if Liam wasn't frustrated enough with the events from the previous day, now she had even more of a reason to be angry with Louis.

There was no longer any doubt in her mind: Louis, Bright Spark, whoever she really was had to be stopped, once and for all.

*

"This isn't going to work," Louis grumbled as she finished tying the knot around Harry's ankles.

"Yes, it is," Harry assured her, peering down at the top of Louis' head as best she could.

"No it's not, and remind me why I had to tie you up?" Louis asked, tilting her head up to give Harry an exasperated look. "I'm a bloody firestarter, I don't _do_ rope."

"I dunno," Harry said with a smirk, "think you're quite good at it. M'not going anywhere you don't want me to, am I?"

Louis got to her feet and gave Harry a curious look, that same warm feeling she got the last time she and Harry were this close filling her chest when their eyes met, and Harry just kept smirking at her.

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"You know what," Louis huffed. "I'm supposed to be the one in charge here, not you."

"Let you tie me up, didn't I?" Harry winked. "Think that means you're in charge."

Louis groaned softly and was about to reprimand Harry for flirting with her when a sudden gust of air nearly knocked her over and Liam appeared no more than five feet away.

"Liam!" Harry said excitedly, and Louis held back a wince when Liam turned to look at her.

"Spilling everyone's secrets, then?" she muttered darkly and Louis couldn't help her tone of voice when she replied.

"I am not! You're the one who took off yesterday without thinking!"

Liam's face hardened even more and Louis sighed heavily, thinking she'd already fucked this up. She'd tried telling Harry a dozen times that this plan wasn't going to work, and here was her proof. When Liam hadn't come home the night before Louis was positive she'd already lost her forever. If Harry hadn't dragged her out of the flat that morning, Louis might never have left again.

"You've been lying to me all this time," Liam said very carefully, as though if she spoke any faster her words wouldn't come out at all, "and for what? A laugh?"

"No," Louis replied, immediately deflating. "I didn't know it was you, Li, honest. If I had, I would've--"

"Set fire to our flat to get rid of me?" Liam interrupted.

"What? No! I--"

"You burned down the bloody library!"

"I didn't mean to!" Louis shouted. "If you'd just let me explain, you--"

"What's there to explain?" Liam took a sharp breath, gasping to keep herself from sobbing, "all the proof I need is right here!" She gestured to Harry, who had been frowning the whole time, pointing at the knots that kept her bound. "You're a villain!"

"She's not," Harry interrupted before either of them could speak further, "not really."

"What?" Liam asked, looking back and forth between Louis and Harry with equally confused looks.

"This," Harry struggled against the ropes with a mild chuckle, "was my idea."

"You--" Liam blinked, looking even more confused than before, "why?"

"Because I knew you wouldn't be able to resist a damsel in distress," Harry answered calmly with a smile. "How else would we be able to get you here so Louis could tell you how she feels about you?"

"Harry!" Louis chided harshly, but Harry only grinned in response.

"What does she mean?" Liam demanded, rounding on Louis. "How do you feel about me?"

"Li," Louis whispered softly, avoiding Liam's eye as she looked at the ground.

"Tell me," Liam demanded further, "what else have you been keeping from me?"

"Like you're one to fucking talk!" Louis snapped, finally meeting Liam's eye with a fierce look. "You never told me you were Fantastica!"

"That's hardly the point!" Liam groaned. "Your being Bright Spark is far worse than my being Fantastica, isn't it? Especially when you knew all this time--"

"I've already told you, I didn't!" Louis shouted.

"Well you knew something, didn't you? Harry said--"

"I'm in love with you, you idiot!"

Liam's jaw fell open as she stared at Louis, who immediately looked away as her cheeks burned with embarrassment. Liam looked at Harry for answers, but found none other than a wide smile.

"You're… in love with me?" she repeated softly.

"Yeah," Louis sniffed, "what about it?"

"I… why didn't you tell me?" Liam asked, and Louis laughed derisively.

"Are you kidding? If I'd told you before, I would've had to tell you about being Bright Spark as well, and even if you weren't Fantastica - which, again, _I didn't know about_ \- you would've run away as fast as you can."

"I wouldn't," Liam replied with a sheepish laugh, "the Bright Spark thing would've been difficult--"

"You think?" Louis muttered.

"--but I wouldn't have run away if you told me you loved me," Liam took a deep breath and reached out to Louis, tilting her head up so their eyes met, "I've loved you for ages."

"Yeah?" Louis whispered hopefully.

"Yeah," Liam replied.

"Even though I'm Bright Spark?"

"Yeah," Liam laughed again, "still angry with you, but… still hopelessly in love as well."

"I can work with that," Louis said as she quickly wrapped her arms around Liam's neck and pulled her in for a kiss. Liam gasped in surprise when their lips met, but kissed her back just as eagerly. Liam could feel her anger melting away as she put her arms around Louis' waist and held her close, forgetting about everything other than how it felt to have Louis so close to her.

Until, of course, Harry cleared her throat and Liam realized they were full-on snogging in front of her.

"Don't mind me," Harry said with a wicked grin when Liam pulled away from Louis, despite her unhappy whimpers, "I'm just enjoying the view."

Liam ducked her head into the crook of Louis' neck to hide her blush while Louis kissed her cheek before turning to Harry.

"Keep it in your pants, Harriet."

"Can't help it, can I?" Harry replied. "Especially not when there's two fit girls snogging in front of me like that."

"Next time I'm bringing a gag," Louis muttered.

"Next time?" Harry echoed excitedly and Liam let out an embarrassed groan. "I do love it when a woman takes control," Liam peeked at Harry and got a wink in return, "I bet two would be even more fun."

"Christ," Louis groaned and Liam squeaked when Louis' grip on her tightened and the press of her fingertips against Liam's skin started to burn, "sorry!"

"S'alright," Liam assured her, pulling back to brush her lips against Louis', "we'll work on it."

"Got a lot of things to work on," Louis replied softly, "not just a kinky damsel in distress who _likes_ to be tied up," she added with a pointed look at Harry.

"What can I say?" Harry replied, shrugging as best she could, "I'm a sucker for a girl in uniform."

*

It took a week or two for Niall to warm up to Louis again, even though Louis insisted that it had all been a misunderstanding and there wasn't _really_ a reason for Niall to be mad at her in the first place. Still, there were a few days where Niall wouldn't even acknowledge her presence in the room and a few days more before she'd even sit next to Louis.

Truth be told, Louis was unbelievably relieved when Niall gave her a hug a few weeks later when she showed up at Liam and Louis' flat for a get-together. Louis let out a long breath after Niall had left her side and shared a smile with Liam on the other side of the room.

Harry, who was curled into Liam's side when Niall arrived, immediately roped her into their conversation while Louis fetched more drinks and snacks. Louis smiled again when Liam wrapped her arm around Harry's waist, keeping her close as Niall sat down on her other side.

The weeks that followed Liam finding out about Louis and vice versa had been rife with a whirlwind of emotions, and Louis was still slightly panicky that Liam would say everything was too much and disappear all over again. But sometimes Louis would catch Liam staring at Harry the same way Louis did, and Louis was sure she'd never felt more comfortable with two people than she did with Liam and Harry.

Louis wasn't sure what their relationship - if it even was that - really meant, mostly because she'd been too afraid to ask and risk losing everything all over again, but for now she was happy and hadn't accidentally set anything on fire in seventeen days so she figured she must be doing something right.

Another knock came at the door right as Louis was bringing in the second round of snacks, and the other three girls all looked at her in confusion. Louis gave a small, nervous laugh as she called out that she'd be right there before she turned to them for an explanation.

"I invited someone else," she mumbled quickly before she ran for the door. Waiting on the other side was Copycat, and Louis realized that there had only been one other instance since the first time they met that she'd seen her not in a disguise, and that had only been for a split second.

"Hi," she said with a timid laugh when Louis kept staring at her blankly instead of inviting her in.

"Sorry," Louis said with an embarrassed laugh, "hi, c'mon in."

Liam, Niall, and Harry all looked at the pair of them with the same confused look when they entered the room, and Louis could feel her cheeks turning red.

"That's Niall, Liam, and Harry," she said, pointing to each girl in turn, "and this is Z--"

Louis paused, realizing that as she was about to say Zoomy that she actually had no idea what Copycat's real name was. And just as her heart started pounding and her mind raced with a hundred negative thoughts about bringing her there at all, she spoke up.

"Zayn," she said with another timid laugh. "M'Zayn. Nice to meet you all."

"Good to meet you too," Liam said with a smile.

"Come sit down!" Harry said, pointing to the space next to Niall.

"You can have Lou's drink," Niall said with a grin, "since she didn't say you were coming, and all."

"She didn't, did she?" Zayn smirked at Louis, who rolled her eyes and huffed loudly.

"Piss off," she mumbled as she turned her back on all of them to go back into the kitchen. No more than thirty seconds later, she felt Liam's arms wrapping around her waist and Louis melted against her.

"This is good, yeah?" Liam asked softly.

"Yeah," Louis replied as she put her hands on top of Liam's and let out a wry chuckle. "You and Harry looked cozy."

"Would be cozier if you'd come sit with us," Liam murmured as she gently rubbed her nose against Louis' neck. Louis shivered and tightened her hand around Liam's, feeling Liam smile against her skin.

"D'you think she could stay here, tonight?" Louis asked softly. "Y'know she's been dying to see you in that short skirt of yours again."

"We could arrange that," Liam replied, "only if you wear yours too."

"You just want to see my arse in a skirt," Louis mumbled, squeaking sharply when Liam pinched her through her jeans.

"Maybe." Liam grinned. "Harry did mention something about roleplay before Niall came over," she mentioned casually as she suddenly pulled away from Louis, still grinning widely as she disappeared into the other room.

Louis closed her eyes and let out a long groan as she steadied herself on the edge of the counter, and when she opened her eyes again she realized she'd managed to light the edge of one of their dish towels on fire.

"Shit!" she cursed as she quickly tossed it into the sink to put out the flames. She laughed as she looked over her shoulder at the doorway Liam had just left through, mumbling "they're going to be the death of me," under her breath.

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](http://imlouisaf.tumblr.com)


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